The aim of Swiss Glacier Monitoring Network is to effect long term observations of glacier variations in the Swiss Alps. The service is coordinated by the Cryospheric Commission of the Swiss Academy of Sciences (EKK/SCNAT) and maintained by the Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology at ETH Zürich (VAW/ETHZ) and the Universities of Fribourg and Zurich. The project receives long-term funding from the Federal Office for the Environment (BAFU), GCOS Schweiz and the Swiss Academy of Sciences.

The aim of Swiss Glacier Monitoring Network is to effect long term observations of glacier variations in the Swiss Alps. The service is coordinated by the Cryospheric Commission of the Swiss Academy of Sciences (EKK/SCNAT) and maintained by the Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology at ETH Zürich (VAW/ETHZ) and the Universities of Fribourg and Zurich. The project receives long-term funding from the Federal Office for the Environment (BAFU), GCOS Schweiz and the Swiss Academy of Sciences.

The aim of this project is to understand the influence of subglacial processes, such as melt, drainage events or basal freeze-on, upon englacial layer structure in the ice sheet, as observed in radio-echo-sounding data and thereby quantify former basal processes. To this aim, observed englacial layer architecture is simulated, using a time-dependent model capable of calculating tracers and isochrone layers within the ice, over regions where changing subglacial conditions are known to occur.

The over-arching aim of the project is to understand and model the short and long-term calving dynamics of tidewater outlet glaciers and thereby derive a robust and physical based calving approach that is operational for larger scale 3D ice flow models. This aim will be accomplished by combining high resolution field and remote-sensing data on short-term calving dynamics of an outlet glacier draining from the Greenland ice sheet with detailed numerical modeling investigations based on fracture and damage approaches and validation of the final calving approach with records of its long-term (> 100 years) evolution.